Day Five - Transformation Points

I do like this "diet", which is not really a diet, but more of a "since you haven't been taking really good care of yourself...read a book and try to follow the guidelines that you probably were already introduced to a long time ago" life style change. 

I have taken nutrition classes, been on Weight Watchers (I am a recovering Lifetime Member), and have led several seasons of the Biggest Winner for work. I have done a lot of personal research on health, exercise, nutrition, etc. I do know what I am supposed to do, but I don't always, ok, I really never do what I am supposed to do.

As if it wasn't hard enough to eat right, five times a day. Drink 3 liters of water, and then pee it all out. and then some. Exercise for a measly 20 minutes a day. Partake in a 100 calorie blowout. Communicate with team members - that is the most fun btdubs. Have celery and cucumbers as the only sanctioned snacks. Really? I am trying to get creative when it comes to how I cut my cukes!

I love the candy bowl at work. I mean who can pass up peanut m and m's and not take one or two?? I love peanut m and m's. But that conversation is for another day. 

One of the easiest aspects of this diet is the sleep time...I love my sleep. It is pretty easy for me to secure 7+ hours a night. I would get extra credit for this one. 

But the most annoying part of this lifestyle change diet for me is the transformation/habit changes. You choose to incorporate a good habit and eliminate a bad one. I chose to floss my teeth daily. I hate flossing. It is really hard to do. My teeth just don't want that floss messing around near them. I have never been a habitual floss-er, ergo the need to add it as a habit. My dentist knows I don't do it. She gets so frustrated that I don't floss. So, I knew it was time to make this happen in my life.

I have resorted to leaving the floss out on the counter. You would not believe the guilt I feel when I pass by without picking it up. I knew I would need to have the floss in full view or I would never floss. For the past five days, I can honestly say that I have flossed daily! and on a couple of days twice!!! But that stupid floss container needs to stop yelling at me. I am trying already....

Now, I need to work on the elimination habit. I tend to eat lunch at my desk at work. I usually get up and prepare my lunch, but I really need to get up and out of my office. I have been using the break room and now that the weather is getting nice in Sunny Cali, I can take my break outside. This habit will be hard to break as I have found myself starting my lunch break at my desk. I have had to take penalty points for messing that up. 

I know I need to make these changes in my life, but it sure would be nice if it was easier....

Oh, one last thing...I am going to walk in the Biggest Loser 5K Walk in Sacramento tomorrow morning. I am not a race walker, but plan to walk with my partner, Baby Girl, aka April Drips. 

Good night and Dayum Girl!

Day Four! And partially regretting committing to this...

Ok, so we are in the first week of the Game On Diet. I feel fairly confident that I won't lose weight this week! I have such a busy schedule with full time work and going back to school. I am taking two classes per semester. For "convenience" sake, I have back to back classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings...but what I didn't foresee was taking on this "game" with my daughters. Does anyone know how hard it is to eat five meals a day? Let alone when you work full time - but try adding on taking classes twice a week. Mondays and Wednesdays are sheer H-E-Double-L.

This is truly a change in my reality. You need to plan ahead for your meals, then you have to eat them. These past few days I have lost points for simply not eating soon enough :(  I have even had the food with me. I can get so distracted and busy at work, sometimes I can't find the time to eat.

I have found that eating at my desk has been a horrible habit for me. So I chose to have that be one of my transformation habits to get rid of. (I say that while I am sitting at my desk, on my lunch hour....) Come one Peri, get with it!

But here are some pictures of my lunch and snacks. The carrots in the second picture will be for my lunch meal. I learned the hard way that carrots are not a sanctioned snack. Really??? Carrots give you darn penalty points????

Home made Beef Stew with Steamed Kale

Cukes, Celery, and Carrots
 

Day one for April!

HELLO EVERYONE... again :)

So today was our first day, it personally went pretty well for me and I would like to share with you all how it went! I say tomorrow we clarify our starting points, goals, and good/bad habits. As for tonight, I just want to share my day since I need to catch some Z's soon!!!

Okay so I was going to go on a run this morning, but ended up staying up late last night doing stuff, so I decided to catch up on some sleep. I had a super yummy, filling and easy breakfast. I decided to fry two egg whites (no oil), and put it on some whole wheat toast with tomatoes and avocado. I also had some green tea because that is an awesome way to get some energy and boost your metabolism!

Meal one:

C: WW toast, two tomato slices

P: Two egg whites

F: Avocado

I then had to pack three more meals because when I leave for the day... it's for a long time. Here's a picture of all my food. 

Meal 2:

P: Greek Yogurt

C: Blueberries and cuties

F: Sunflower seeds

Meal 3:

P: Chicken

C: 1/2 cup wild/brown rice and tomatoes

F: tsp of olive oil in dressing and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds

V: first serving - Spinach, mushrooms, green onions

Misc.: I decided to add some crystal light energy powder to my water for a little boost before work. 10 calories.

Meal 4:

P: Turkey muffin

C: Apple

F: Almonds

V: Second serving - carrots

I had to eat meals 2-4 at funny times. I had to eat the yogurt in class, gobble the salad during a brief break at work, and then I had meal four during my staff meeting. This is so much food! Using the weekends to prepare my food has really helped me. I made the turkey muffins, chicken, and rice over the weekend and then portioned it out. Planning is definitely key!! After my Monday night staff meeting, I rushed over to the gym to do an hour of spin which kicked my butt... literally! Afterwards, I got home to have this delicious baby... It is kind of like a protein/dessert smoothie. I am not usually hungry after I work out, so this is a nice thing to sip on... plus I feel like something so healthy shouldn't be this delicious. I am definitely using this after the competition! Thank goodness for Greek Yogurt!!!

Meal 5:

P: 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

C: Small banana and I threw in two strawberries

F: PB (crunchy gives it a nice consistency)

Misc.: I added another spoonful of PB for my last 90 extra calories.

 I wont do this everyday, but it is nice to share what is working for me. I also snacked on celery that I cut and portioned out this weekend. It would have been a perfect score day for me... but my staff meeting went long and I was five minutes late to my spin class. We haven't discussed bad habits, but being late is mine :( Oh well, you win some and you lose some. For the official first day, mine went well! I hope everyone elses did too. It would be nice if maybe once or twice a week, we each took time to give a more detailed blog about our daily experience. This whole thing is tough, but I think it is going to be well worth it!

Game On! Diet Guidelines

HELLO EVERYONE! ...and by everyone I mean probably only Mom, Rebecca and Diana. 

I am April (aka Baby Girl) and I have a wonderful mother (Peri), and two lovely sisters, (Diana and Rebecca). We have decided to take part in a one month challenge/diet/life change process called The Game On Diet. It's from a book and basically in order to reach our goals (which are all different) we try to earn points daily by living healthy. I wont go too much into the background, but I wanted to make the ground rules clear. 

There are two teams:

- Dayuuuuuum Girls: Peri (Mombot) and April

- RubDiana: Diana and Rebecca

Object of the Game:  To score as many points as possible.  At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins!

Prize: Each person on the winning team earns a $50 gift card to some clothing store so they can purchase a new outfit for their hot new bods. 

  

Keeping Score

Scoring is kept on the honors system.  It’s not about guilt or feeling bad if you don’t get all the points possible, it’s a guide to keep you motivated and a scaffold to set new habits. You keep track on the spreadsheet that is available when you google it. Each week, turn it into the designated scorekeeper. Only the team cumulative point score is shared.

A perfect day is worth 100 points.  A perfect day includes:

·         30 meal points.  You earn 6 points per each of the five, sanctioned meal times – you can use their recommended meal ideas or a diet plan of your own. If your diet plan is different from five meals, yet you follow your diet’s rules, then you get full points. No snacks between meals unless they are cucumber slices or celery. Here’s the link to their food management plan: http://www.thegameondiet.com/templates/tgod/images/food_chart-5-1.pdf

·         20 exercise points.  You earn your exercise points by doing some form of exercise for 20 minutes per day.

·         10 water points.  You earn your water points by drinking three liters of water per day 

·         15 sleep points.  You earn your sleep points by sleeping for a minimum of seven hours a night.

·         20 transformation points.  You earn 10 points a day for practicing a new healthy habit and another 10 points for eliminating one unhealthy old habit.

·         5 communication points.  You earn your communication points by being in contact with at least one teammate and one opponent each day. 

Exceptions

Each week, each player gets one meal off in addition to one day off.   The meal off and day off may be taken at any time during a given week.  They may not be saved and carried over in later weeks.

Your day off includes a respite from all rules.  This respite may be spread throughout the week (i.e. Monday can be your water day off, Tuesday can be your baits day off, Wednesday can be your sleep day off, etc; or you can take one whole day off from everything and still record your points.).

Bonus Points

You can also earn a 10-point bonus each week by turning in your scores to your team’s scorekeeper by a designated time (e.g. noon on Monday).

In addition, each week, a bonus equaling 20 percent of your points earned for the week is awarded for losing one percent of your body weight.  (Note:  if weight loss is not a goal for you, you must set yourself a fitness goal for which you will win your bonus points and inform your teammates and opponents in advance of beginning the game).

Penalties

There is a 10-point snacking penalty for snacking between meals. 

There is a 20-point collusion penalty.  If any player suggests to any other player a compromise of integrity, e.g. saying to an opponent, “If I eat a snack and you eat a snack, then we both lost points and it all balances out!” the player suggestion the compromise loses 20 points.

There is a 25-point per portion alcohol penalty.  A portion equals any amount of alcohol up to 6 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.  One portion of alcohol may be consumed freely on the day off.

Tie-Breakers

In the unlikely case of a tie, the game goes to the team with the highest number of 100-point days.

PHEW! That was a lot of information... but I think it was important to get it all out on the table. Anywho, today (March 11, 2013) is day one of our endeavor to reach our goals. We can do it ladies :)

Today is the Day!

Day One - weigh in first thing in the morning...yikes 177.2 for me. I took all the typical measurements, but I refuse to post them. I will take note of any changes, hopefully for the better. But on to game at hand...

Dayum Girl Team - April Drips and Peri Siepman
RubDiana Team - Rebecca Giannini and Diana Drips

In case anyone is wondering who we all are...I am the mother of all those lovely girls. Diana is my oldest daughter, single and looking. Rebecca is the middle daughter, married to a wonderful man, mother to my first grandson, Jonah. April is my baby girl, literally that is the name on her birth certificate! single and looking. And oh, yeah. I am single and looking too!!!

Good luck to us all.